Fender and Loog Guitars have teamed up for two ingenuous versions of the iconic Telecaster and Stratocaster that are especially designed for children aged six and older.
Anyone who subscribes to the maxim ‘start them young’ should check these out. They feature scaled down bodies and necks, a single pickup and volume control, just three strings, and come with a goodie back containing chord flash cards, an educational booklet, a pair of guitar picks, and some stickers for fun.
We particularly like the cartoon Leo Fender that’s on the cover of the booklet detailing the history of the brand. Might as well start them young on their way to becoming a Fender nerd. You are never too young to obsess over the exact date when the Big F finally transitioned from flat-head screws to Phillips on their Tele.
There is also an accompanying app that can be downloaded free from Apple or Google to help them get started. It features video content and interactive game-style lessons to workshop your budding rock star’s chops.
The three-string format, in which the guitars are strung low-to-high G B E comes from Loog. Designing guitars for children is their specialty. And they are not toys.
The idea is that chords are simplified, more approachable, and then can be scaled up when the player is ready to take on a regular guitar – a Squier guitar series would be a logical starting point for taking the next step in beginner electric guitar.
Also, the strings on the Fender x Loog models are regular sized, so it shouldn’t be too much of a shock to young fingers when they make that transition to six-strings. And just think of what all that knowledge with triads can do when it comes time to play some Hendrix-style solo ideas.
The alternatives would be to start on a 3/4-sized guitar with six strings, which could be intimidating, or on the ukulele. While you can develop dexterity on the ukulele, it is not a guitar.
The design elements, however, are classic Fender. There is no mistaking where those headstocks have come from. Both have maple necks bolted onto solid paulownia body bodies, and featuring 17-fret maple fingerboards. The Strat is offered in Black. The Tele in Seafoam Green.
The bridges have a three-saddle string-through-body design, with the bridge height adjustable via a hexagonal wrench. The scale length is 20.6”, the nut width 29mm. The guitars weigh in at 2.4lb. And they are priced £189 / $199.
For more details, head over to Fender.
